Review by: Tina Alexander

Stephen Sommers is a skilled writer and director of action movies and I was surprisingly entertained by his latest film, G.I. Joe. When I told Daniel I was nervous about reviewing this film because I didn't really pay attention to the cartoon when I was young, his response was, "that's okay, I don't think the movie did either." You guys will have to judge that for yourselves.

There's no more "Great American Hero" as the "Joe's" are now part of NATO and hail from many different countries. A dirty Scottish arms dealer has created a new weapon which he sells to NATO, only to steal it back. There's the usual master plan to rule the world and the "Joe's" have to thwart it.

The Good. This was a great action movie with high production value. They kept the story simple and there were battles on land, in the air, and under the sea. There is a car chase scene that just might be the sweetest one I've seen in awhile. Especially the sections involving Snake Eyes. Also, the story was interspersed with a few back stories in a way that kept it interesting but not overwhelming.

As far as Hasbro movies go, this one smoked Transformers 2. Maybe because it didn't rely on teenagers (not for the action, the intelligence or the love… what a concept)! While G.I. Joe had comic relief and cheesy characters it still did a much better job. There was nothing so annoying I wanted to shoot myself, which is more than I can say for Transformers.

The Bad. Some of the character arcs were unbelievable. One second we're sweet baby brother, the next we're stark raving mad and evil. What? I thought the point of this movie was to give the motivations behind the bad guys. I think there were some failures here, as well as with the acting...but I didn't go in expecting to see anything academy worthy.

So How Does It End?

There were victories on both sides. We get to see Cobra Commander become himself...only to get arrested two seconds later. However the President of the U.S. Is taken over by The Mummy. I mean Zartan. But man, when Arnold Vosloo was in the desert I was just waiting to see his face come out of the sand and eat someone.

Also, why is the Baroness a complete warrior through the whole film, but as soon as she remembers she loves Duke she can't even walk for herself. Silliness.

This is a blockbuster action movie that was better than I expected, but as I admitted, G.I. Joe doesn't mean a lot to my childhood. I give it 3 out of 5.